For almost 20 years, Marko Hietala was one of the key players in symphonic metal giants Nightwish. Bassist, back-up vocalist and songwriter, Hietala's skills are multi-faceted and even long before he joined Nightwish he'd established himself as an esteemed musician with heavy metal group Tarot in the mid-80s.
Since departing Nightwish, he's spread his wings as a solo artist, releasing his second album Roses From The Deep in February as well as collaborating live with former bandmate Tarja Turunen. We asked Marko to guide us through the songs that set him on the path to music, from the time Metallica borrowed his equipment to the album that was symphonic metal before the genre even existed...
